All ActivityMost RecentMost LikesSolutionsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?The importance of a TPMS: tire pressure monitoring system. I recently bought a used 30' Class C with 111k miles on the clock from Cruise America. Prior to sale I had performed the perfunctory safety checks, especially on the tires, ensuring they were within 3-5 years from manufacturing date, had good tread, no sidewall cracks and were aired-up appropriately. However, the coach lacked a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)--and I thought NOTHING of it. "No big deal," I told myself. I'll religiously check the pressure prior to every trip and that's good enough. That is, until the fateful day recently when I discovered, while parked at a rest stop, that my outer right rear dually looked mighty low. It was a Sunday and I was in Penrose, CO. Fortunately, I found the owner of a tire shop working on his day off and he kindly agreed to put some air in my tire. "Whoa," he said. "Your outer tire is low because it's bearing all the weight that should be shared with the inner dually. And THAT tire is flatter than a pancake. Unrepairable." Whaaa...? Folks, only minutes earlier, I had driven down a treacherous mountain road out of Westcliffe, CO. One with lots of curves, aggressive drivers and a need for reasonable speed. How and where that tire failed I have no idea. And my ignorance of the situation needlessly imperiled me and everyone else on the road. One failed tire could easily have led to two, loss of control and--well, your imagination of a disaster is as good as mine. As I listened to the tire man I began to shudder with the thought of the catastrophe I had miraculously been spared. And how a TPMS is no longer a luxury in my mind. It is an absolute necessity. I'm no longer an indolent wise guy. I got a clue. And I hope you all do, too.The importance of a TPMS Tire Pressure Monitoring SystemAuthor's note: In response to justified criticism that my original headline was 'over-the-top,' I have modified it to more accurately reflect my experience. Thanks to all for their opinions. I recently bought a used 30' Class C with 111k miles on the clock. Prior to sale I had performed the perfunctory safety checks, especially on the tires, ensuring they were within 3-5 years from manufacturing date, had good tread, no sidewall cracks and were aired-up appropriately. However, the coach lacked a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)--and I thought NOTHING of it. "No big deal," I told myself. I'll religiously check the pressure prior to every trip and that's good enough. That is, until the fateful day recently when I discovered, while parked at a rest stop, that my outer right rear dually looked mighty low. It was a Sunday and I was in Penrose, CO. Fortunately, I found the owner of a tire shop working on his day off and he kindly agreed to put some air in my tire. "Whoa," he said. "Your outer tire is low because it's bearing all the weight that should be shared with the inner dually. And THAT tire is flatter than a pancake. Unrepairable." Whaaa...? Folks, only minutes earlier, I had driven down a treacherous mountain road out of Westcliffe, CO. One with lots of curves, aggressive drivers and a need for reasonable speed. How and where that tire failed I have no idea. And my ignorance of the situation needlessly imperiled me and everyone else on the road. One failed tire could easily have led to two, loss of control and--well, your imagination of a disaster is as good as mine. As I listened to the tire man I began to shudder with the thought of the catastrophe I had miraculously been spared. And how a TPMS is no longer a luxury in my mind. It is an absolute necessity. I'm no longer a indolent wise guy. I got a clue. And I hope you do, too.Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there? IAMICHABOD wrote: That is interesting,my new Safe-T-Alert has the MFG Date stamped on the back side just as the one that I replaced that was a bit over 5 years old according to the MFG date that was stamped on the backside of the old unit. The original one that was in the RV when I bought it had a MFG Date that was over 6 years old when it failed. IAMICHABOD: Thanks for the photo which leads to me now standing corrected! Found the manufacturing date on my replacement unit. The date was actually printed on the faceplate of the old unit rather than on the back as they are doing now.Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there? IAMICHABOD wrote: Hoerschel wrote: While checking the interior of my 2015 Majestic 28a last week I heard beeping and discovered it was my dual carbon monoxide / propane gas alarm. Upon closer inspection, the flashing lights indicated the unit had reached the end of its useful life and needed replacing. An inscription on the face plate also directed the device be replaced after 5 years of service. Just an FYI for other former rental owners to be aware. Cost to replace is appproximately $75. I bought mine online through Camping World with a $15 coupon. I had the same thing happen to mine,my RV was a bit over 4 years old when I purchased it,The propane detector failed about a year after my purchase, it was just a bit over 6 years old according to the MFG Date. I replaced it and then just a few months ago I hear that same beep again,checked and sure enough it was my Propane alarm failure beep and flashing light. I pulled it out and checked the MFG Date,it was 5 years and 2 months old,talk about planned failure. I also replaced mine from Camping World.For me I went to the store and checked it before I bought it,its MFG Date was only 1 month old,I suggest checking that to make sure that you didn't get a old one. A link to the one you bought might be very helpful to other owners of a Majestic 28A. Thanks for coming back and alerting others of this! Interestingly, information on the front panel of my new Safe-T-Alert detector specifically states "Replace by 60 months after retail sale date." No manufacturing date is supplied. So apparently the onus is on the buyer (me) to print the date from my receipt on the faceplate with an indelible marker. I'm guessing that they don't expect the fungible components of the detector to begin deteriorating until power is supplied!(?) Attempts to reach the company for clarification via the printed 800 number have been unsuccessful. The office is closed due to COVID and they are working remotely.Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?While checking the interior of my 2015 Majestic 28a last week I heard beeping and discovered it was my dual carbon monoxide / propane gas alarm. Upon closer inspection, the flashing lights indicated the unit had reached the end of its useful life and needed replacing. An inscription on the face plate also directed the device be replaced after 5 years of service. Just an FYI for other former rental owners to be aware. Cost to replace is appproximately $75. I bought mine online through Camping World with a $15 coupon.Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there? SJ-Chris wrote: When I bought my RVs from Cruise America, they made a big deal saying that their roofs are something special, so I was worried that perhaps they weren't EDPM or TPO but rather something else. I wanted to make sure it was okay to use the Dicor EDPM/TPO roofing material. I read online somewhere (maybe even in this thread) that someone mentioned it was TPO. But I didn't want to believe just one person posting online to make my decision (no offense), because if it was wrong it could be bad news. Well....it took many many calls to multiple Cruise Americas to get the answer. They told me that on the 2015 Majestic it uses a TPO roof. Interestingly, they said that their 2020 model (not sure about future models) is EDPM. Just wanted to throw this out into the universe as it was much more difficult for me to find this answer and I'm hoping someone else finds it useful. --- S-J Chris: No offense taken. Back on 12/29/20 I replied to your original 12/27 inquiry and stated I had contacted Thor directly to confirm that our units had TPO roofs. Much easier to go right to the manufacturer rather than the retailer to get such critical information.Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?FLORIDASTORM: I would echo many others on this forum who passed up extended service warranties in favor of self-insuring toward future repairs. Seems rare that anyone in this group ever had any of the major mechanical issues the warranties are supposed to cover. Those who purchased warranties and thehn tried to use them often complained about caveats in the small print that rendered the 'coverage' virtually useless. YMMV...Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?SJ-Chris: SJ-Chris wrote: I was thinking of using this stuff: https://www.homedepot.com/p/SAVOGRAN-1-qt-Liquid-TSP-Substitute-Cleaner-10632/205491255 And then rinsing with a pressure washer. ----You're instincts are right on with the TSP. It is the recommended cleaner. Be careful, however, with a pressure washer as the intensity can damage the membrane. I applied the TSP with a soft bristle brush broom made for vehicles and rinsed it after attaching my hose to the broom extension wand. I'm sorry I don't have any photos. ---- Question: Did you first use something like Dicor Lap Sealant over all of the existing sealed spots (ie. vents, front/rear edge, etc)? Or does the Henry's act as a good enough sealant over all those spots? I imagine edging with a paint brush over all those "trim" spots with 2-3 heavy coats during the process, and 2 overall coats everywhere else. ---- Again, your instincts are right. You can use the Dicor or the Henry 884 for those areas that are gouged or originally insufficiently sealed from the factory (uh huh!) Otherwise, rolling or brushing on the 887 should be adequate too since both Henry products are 100% silicone and seal well. Just be sure you adequately clean the build-up of black dirt and environmental residue to get a good bond. This is where it took me the most time. On the previously sealed areas and around the perimeter I had to use a firmer brush and lots of elbow grease to remove the black layer of schmutz. ------ My roof doesn't seem to have any issues with leaking/etc. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm mostly doing this as a preventative measure (the RV is 5 years old) and also I'm putting up solar and kinda figure now is a good time to do it while I don't have 2-3 panels up there yet. Once done with reseal and solar, hopefully I won't have much need to go up on my roof for a few years (except for perhaps an annual cleaning). -Chris ------- My roof was also in very good shape, the aforementioned ponding issue actually common and not necessarily problematic. Otherwise, an annual maintenance check for tree limb gouges is wise and should be about the only reason you'd need to put a ladder up there. I'll let the rain and snow otherwise rinse my roof for me!Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?SJ-CHRIS: The 28a has a TPO roof. I confirmed it directly with Thor. Mine's also a 2015 with 116k miles and I had the same thought about dealing with roof maintenance once and for all. I wanted my first season up on the roof to be the last season I'd ever have to go up there again. Collective wisdom found in numerous places around the web led me to go with the Henry 887 100% Silicone Tropi-Cool roof coating and Henry 884 Silicone Roof Seam repair goop, available at most Home Depots (didn't find any at my local Lowes). Lots of videos online to guide you through the experience. Key is doing the prep work thoroughly to ensure the product bonds properly. (But DO NOT USE ACETONE or any petroleum product while cleaning. It will destroy the TPO.) I was concerned about a 50 sq foot area on my roof that was ponding water consistently. The beautiful thing about the Henry is that it is made for this and is 100% waterproof, rain-safe in 15 minutes and lifetime limited warranty. All-in, I probably paid about $500 for product and supplies and applied it myself. My local RV dealer wanted to charge me $5,700 for labor and a comparable 'proprietary' sealant they used, which he would not identify. It was not Dicor. Now I'm not a paid spokesman. I just love how mine worked out, similar to other experiences I've researched. Best wishes however you choose to move forward.Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there? briancayko wrote: Any truth that they run deeper discounts around thanksgiving? and is the current $2,500 off promotion a usual thing or unique to their sales strategy? And lastly, is there a specific mileage, say 100k or 120k that normal scheduled maintenance would be performed on the engine/drive train? as to specifically purchase one with say 120k+ as opposed to say 110k in order to make sure that the closest scheduled maintenance has already been done? Yes, I bought one last November/December that was discounted heavily due to it being off season and CA still needs to generate income. The trade off is that I found them less inclined to fix things; i.e., failing house battery, replace tires, change oil / transmission fluid. I absorbed the expense and got the work done afterword and still saved money by purchasing in the off season.
GroupsFifth Wheel Group Interested in fifth wheels? You've come to the right spot.Jan 13, 202519,006 PostsMotorhome Group Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Jan 14, 202538,705 PostsTravel Trailer Group Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Jan 20, 202544,029 Posts